xj plus snow= no go?

Ok,before I give up on the xj and go back to my cj7 roots,maybe you guys can help me and give me a couple ideas on how to make my 92 xj better in the snow. We got 12 inches of snow in the last day or so.My xj is stock,4.0 5 speed. i am not not at all impressed with it's performance in the snow. I know part of the problem is that it sits too low and gets belly hung a lot,I got stuck 2 times this morning on the way home from work,and I need a lift kit to help in that department,but even when I went out tonight after the roads were plowed and almost clear,I found myself shifting into 4 wheel drive to get moving from stop lights with only a little packed snow on the ground. Turning is a whole different experince all together. I can't give it ANY gas and turn at the same time,or the front end just pushes and it doesn't turn. this is in 4wd or 2wd.I think part of the problem is that I need more aggressive tires. who makes a good,cheap tire that is good in snow and mud as well? what kind of tires are generally better in the snow,mud?I can't afford to buy a set of tires just for winter,the tires will have to be for year round use. Are my problems just the nature of the beast,or do other xj's do good in the snow? I love the reliabilty of my xj,but i will be going back to my cj7 roots if i can't get the xj to do better in the snow. thanks for the input

crappy tires, low ground clearance, open diffs. Sounds like you need to start with tires tho.

The Toyo open country tires do well in the snow

[FONT=&quot]I would say get some better tires.
I have been impressed with the snow performance of my Revos in all weather conditions.
Out here in the West, in any mountain town you will see dozens of XJs.[/FONT]

My MJ is completely stock. 4.0l and a 5 spd.
We got 12 inches here also.
I've got Revos, and I went everywhere I wanted to go today. Not a problem, No spinning, no problems starting at lights

We just had a crapy day here in Ottawa and no problem. I have some cheap winter tires from Wal-Mart, 60$ cdn each. (in October).
They are not the best tires but the cheapest winter tire will always out perform the best regular tire in the cold. Its not all about the tread, its the rubber thats different. My 2 cent.

Good tires will go a long way

I have Revos on mine and they were great last winter

You will never get good traction accelerating from a stop in 2wd on packed snow unless you have studs or chains

my old 2 door 5 speed would spin tires in the first 3 gears if i gave it any gas from a stop in 2wd on packed snow, and it had 31 inch MT/R's on it

Remember XJ's are relatively light and have a lot of power, not a good combo on snow or even wet roads with a heavy foot for that matter

I had a 69 beetle that handled Ohio's blizzard of 71 (that stranded thousands of motorists between Columbus and Cleveland) due to its engine weight directly over the drive axles. And talk about lack of clearance. Proper weight over axles, touch on the gas and low rpms gets you going and momentum keeps you going. Sandbag your xj's rear cargo and take off in second. And crappy tires will always give crappy results whether its on an xj, cj or humj.

thanks for the input so far. I am not familiar with revo tires. Is revo the brand,or the style? thanks

cjben said:

thanks for the input so far. I am not familiar with revo tires. Is revo the brand,or the style? thanks

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they are made by Bridgestone. it is actually called the Dueler Revos. i had the regulay duelers on my XJ and they did very well in the snow. revos are even better.

I have delt with my XJ a lot in the snow, I know it didn't have the greatest ground clearance, but I never got stuck. We had the blizzard of '05 on the Cape, (schools were shut down for a week) and with snow up to my bumper, I was able to go a distance in my driveway without spinning to the plowed area. I haven't driven any other cars in the snow, but this thing had done really good on unplowed roads during heavy snow.

Tires make the biggest difference in the snow. My XJ with BF K/O's goes like a dream in the white stuff as long as I don't purposely try to spin. A lot of people think you need to shift in, and out of 4x4 when you are driving in the snow. Just leave it in 4x4 and go as long as the pavement is wet you will be fine. Even short sections of dry will not hurt it as long as it is straight if you have to turn in a dry spot then take it out of 4x4. Also contrary to popular belief 4x4 will help you stop a bit better by not alowing the front tires to lock up as quickly.

RPM does not equal traction. Bad tires or street tires will suck in snow. If you are going to fast, good luck trying to stop fast on anything slick.

As was already stated, get a good set of snow tires and perhaps put a little weight in the back if you Jeep does not sag to much. And keep the gas tank full at all times as this adds weight and keeps water our of your fuel system.

A full tank of gas should weigh approx: 20 gallons * 8.34 lbs / gallon * 0.739 (specific gravity of gasoline) = 123.27 lbs = 55.93 kg

I have a '96 with 5 speed and you are right, they are not good in 2wd taking off from a stop. In snow, put it in 4 hi and you should be good to go. I have even put in in 4hi to get moving and then put it back in 2wd once I got moving.

When making a turn in 4 hi, let off on the gas a little as it will want to go straight. The biggest benefit about having a manual transmission when trying to stop, is that you can back off on the gas and let the engine / trans do some braking for you instead of just pressing the brake alone. Not a magic cure, but it helps.

Best vehicles I ever had in the snow with good all season radial tires were:
'76 Dodge Cornet - Once I got moving not much could stop it.
'63 Chevy Impala - same as above
'74 VW Beetle - Bad if it got stuck on top of a drift, but could do amazing things.
'84 Chevy Chevette - crappy little car, but did good in snow with the right tires

Check out Winterforece tires - have them on my TJ - and pos Kia wagon - Work really well in Snow - directional tread. Went just fine the stuff yesterday

Even though they say M/S I think they would get lost in the real goo of a mud pit

i have Kumho venture MTR's. i bought them from tirerack.com and they were very cheap. around $80 for a 31", and around $110 for a 33".

they work great in every terrain i've had them in so far, and i love them in the snow. in my opinion, they work better in the snow then my old goodyear MT/R's.

cherokees are very very light, which doesn't help very much. add some weight to the back, and just keep it in 4wd. no need to have it in 2wd if it's snowing.

as for it pushing a little around turns, that's kinda normal to an extend. when in 4wd , the front is pulling and the rear is pushing. now if you are already moving and you try to turn in the snow, it still have directional forward momentum. so if you are on the gas when you try to turn, then the rear will keep pushing forward and you front tires are trying to "suddenly" change directions. if you let the gas a little, then it's easier to turn because the rear tires aren't pushing anymore.

i got my cherokee completely gutted, and even when it's just raining out, the rear breaks loose if i don't take it easy. just nature of the beast. but nothing bad.

If you do put winter weight in the back make sure to tie it down securely, you don't want a 20+lb weight to come flying at your back/head if you crash.

thanks for the ideas guys,I will be getting new tires before the next storm hits.I do have some weight in the back,and it helped some with the tires i have on it now,but i will be upgrading tires soon. would be good if i could just wait until spring and put a lift on it and run the 32 inch tires i want,but with this much snow this early,it looks like it might be a snowy winter. i work a lot of hours,and couldn't get the lift on in a weekend,so it would have to wait until spring when the jeep could be down for a couple weeks.

as an owner of an xj and a cj myself i can say i would rather,hands down every time,drive the xj in the snow than the cj.xj has lower center of gravity even though it's lifted and wider wheel base.plus,it's got a way better heater than the cj!:doh:

Currently my wife drives a TJ with Revos and Limited-slip and I am driving "beater" MJ (pre-build), open diffs with whatever I can find for tires. I have swapped the REVO's onto the MJ and the difference is huge. Tires make all the difference. The MJ does have an edge with the normal snow up to the under carriage, after that the TJ does better. The short wheelbase on the TJ does make it a little more difficult at highway speeds thou. I would give a look at your tires first, than compare.

well,that's kind of the opposite of my experiences,charger guy. my 86 cj7 was stock with 31x10.5 tires on it,and it was almost no fun in the snow because it hooked up so well even in 2 wheel drive. I had to really get on it if i wanted to play at all. Granted,it was a little squirrely at highway speeds,but that is kind of to be expected for a swb at speed on slick roads. the heat wasn't great,but it was acceptable.

Last year was driving around uphill with snow up to front bumper with no problems on my stock sized 225 Goodyear Wrangler GSA's. Had my old sub box as the only real weight. Just need to lighten your foot up